


...And the Family you Choose

by GrumpyJenn



Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Aww, Fluff, Light Angst, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-01
Updated: 2015-02-01
Packaged: 2018-03-10 02:22:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3273230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrumpyJenn/pseuds/GrumpyJenn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes the deadliest threat of all is utterly mundane...</p>
            </blockquote>





	...And the Family you Choose

**Author's Note:**

  * For [justlook3](https://archiveofourown.org/users/justlook3/gifts), [AnagramRMX](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnagramRMX/gifts).



Ezekiel put his hand over the phone receiver. He had a strange expression on his face.

“Uh, Math Girl? You gotta go upstairs; looks like your mum’s there t’see you.”

When Cassandra didn’t even give Jones that exasperated sigh that she usually did when he called her _Math Girl,_ Jake looked over at her. She was just standing there, mouth open, and she looked completely shocked. Why she should be, Jake didn’t know, but he couldn’t stand the look on her face, so he slung an arm around her shoulders. “Tell her we’ll be right there,” he heard himself say, and watched Cassandra as she visibly shook off the shock and… was it pain?

“I will go,” Jenkins put in. “I could use some air.”

This was so surprising that _Jake’s_ mouth almost dropped open with shock, but he said nothing, just gave Ezekiel a _Look_. The younger man sighed. “Right, mate,’ all for one’ and all that, right? Lead on.” He gave a florid and sardonic bow, then held his hand out toward the elevator. “M’lady?”

Cassandra gave him a wan little smile and stepped away from Jake’s protective arm, toward the elevator. “Thanks,” she said, and took a deep breath. “You have no idea…”

That last was said so quietly that Jake wasn’t sure she’d meant to say it out loud at all.

 

~~|~~

 

“Cassandra,” the tall woman said effusively, and rushed at her daughter, stopping dead in her tracks as she reached the younger woman and patting her awkwardly on the arm. Jake winced. This was going to be unpleasant for all of them, but especially Cassie.

“Hello, Mother,” Cassandra said, so woodenly that Jake was a bit alarmed. He stepped closer, and held out a hand to Cassandra’s mother, putting on his best smile.

“Miz Cillian, so nice to meet you,” he said, but she ignored him.

“Cassandra, dear, why are you here? In this… place?” Her tone suggested that she found this place distasteful.

“I work here, Mother.” Cassandra drew herself up. “I’m a librarian in training.”

 _Funny_ , Jake thought; _she makes it sound utterly mundane, a librarian with a lower case el…_

“But Cassandra, you’re not well, and surely these gentlemen need an assistant who—“

“I beg your pardon, Mrs. Cillian,” Jenkins put in, and Jake was torn between wanting to cheer and wanting to laugh. It was so unlike the old man, and he sounded so affronted. “Miss Cillian is a valuable member of our team.”

“Oh, well… I’m sure she is, but she’s not—“

Cassandra interrupted, looking a little terrified at her own temerity. “They’re fully aware of my… limitations, Mother. _All_ of them.” Her eyes flicked to Jake and away again so quickly that he almost missed it.

“And her limitations are far outweighed by her strengths, Miz Cillian,” he said firmly, stepping a little closer to the women. Cassie was trembling oh so slightly, but she was holding herself together. “She is an expert in math and sciences, as you know, and she picks up other information very quickly. We…”

“You? Who _are_ you? Why should I trust you people with my daughter? She is fragile and ill and…”

“Mrs. Cillian,” Jenkins interjected, sounding even more offended. “Your daughter holds her own among some of the most knowledgeable people in their fields here at the library. Mr. Stone is an accomplished art historian, and Mr. Jones is a… an expert in antiquities. I could not do my job as effectively without any of them, including Miss Cillian.”

“I’m happy here, Mama,” Cassandra said, and the pleading tone in her voice, along with the diminutive, alerted Jake that she was losing her grip on the situation. He slid his left hand supportively to the small of her back and she straightened. “I’m _useful_ , for the first time in a long time. They need me.”

“We do,” agreed Ezekiel, as Jake watched Cassie’s mom soften all over _. Poor lady_ , he thought. _She loves her daughter, but she has no idea what to do about her now that she’s not who they thought she was before the tumor_.

“If you’re sure,” Mrs. Cillian said hesitantly, and Cassie was able to smile at her.

“I’m sure.” All three men nodded.

“You’ll take care of her?” Now the poor woman was near tears.

“Of course we will, Miz Cillian,” Jake said gently. “She’s one of us.”

“I love you, Mama.” And Cassandra hugged her mother, who looked first surprised, then pleased, as she returned the embrace a bit gingerly.

“I love you, little Cassie,” she said, and kissed Cassandra on the cheek. The threatened tears appeared, just two of them, and she gave a little wave and was gone.

Zeke took a deep breath. “You okay, Math Girl?” he said, then “Uh-oh. Stone, she’s losin’ it now.”

Jake caught her as she swayed on her feet. “Come on, darlin’, let’s get you home.”

He half-led, half-dragged her to the elevator, and then just held on while she shook like a leaf. “So proud of you, sweetheart,” Jake murmured into Cassie’s hair. “Keepin’ it together, good, it’s okay, you can fall apart now. You’re safe with us, so _proud_ of you, darlin’…” Once in the Library proper, Jake picked Cassie up and sat down on a convenient sofa with her half in his lap.

“It’s not one of her math spells, is it?” Zeke looked nervous, and Jake smiled over Cassie’s head. Poor kid, he’d learned how to deal with the math spells, but a woman simply overwhelmed with emotion was apparently beyond his experience.

“Naw, she’s just… done.” Jake stroked Cassie’s hair.

Zeke looked doubtful. “At least she kept it together ‘til her Mum left.” He shook his head. “Woulda been bad if she’d lost it in front of Mum, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“But I had you,” Cassandra said, her voice muffled against Jake’s chest. “All of you.”

“I am pleased we were helpful,” Jenkins said in his most formal tone, and now Jake knew that meant he was moved. “It would certainly be difficult to replace you, Miss Cillian. You are… unique.”

She squirmed around to look at him, though her head still rested on Jake’s chest. “And you’re a lot more… invested in us than you pretend to be.” She gave him a brilliant smile through the tearstains, and Jake smiled a small and private one as the old man actually looked flustered.

“Yes, well,” Jenkins said. “I have grown accustomed to the quirks and habits of each of you. I would rather not have to train a new batch of Librarians.” He looked off to one side, embarrassed. “I… did not enjoy watching how your mother treated you, Cassandra.” Holding up a hand to stop her as she began to speak, he continued, in a very low tone. “I have come to regard you – all of you – as though you were… family. I would not have you hurt.”

“She means well," Cassandra said, sitting up. Jake missed the warm weight of her. “But she’s the family I was born to. You – all of you – you’re the family I got to choose.”

**Author's Note:**

> Having posted, I'm off to watch the Super Bowl


End file.
